The State of Climate Adaptation in the Marine and Coastal United States, Territories, and Commonwealths

Executive Summary

The State of Climate Adaptation in the Marine and Coastal United States

Climate change threatens the success and longevity of conservation, planning, and management. In marine and coastal environments, climate change-driven shifts are resulting in increasing ocean temperatures, changes in ocean chemistry, and rising seas, which affect species, habitats, infrastructure, cultures, and economies. Decision makers are faced with the challenge of developing and implementing response strategies that are suitable under changing climate conditions.

The field of climate adaptation is in a period of critical transition as it rushes to meet the needs of a growing user base struggling to address the challenges of climate change. The general concepts of adaptation have been well developed over the past decade. Now, practitioners must move from generalities to concrete actions, including implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the effectiveness of adaptation efforts. EcoAdapt strives to facilitate this transition by providing relevant adaptation examples and a forum for knowledge sharing. Our State of Adaptation Program promotes adaptation action by providing real-life, practical adaptation case studies and reports to catalyze creative thinking and action. These assessments allow us to assess professionals’ understanding and concerns about climate change, and identify the current beliefs, policies, and mechanisms that enable and restrict adaptation action.

In the 2011 report, The State of Marine and Coastal Adaptation in North America: A Synthesis of Emerging Ideas, we documented over 150 adaptation projects and initiatives from the United States, Canada, and Mexico (Gregg et al. 2011). The report concluded that the majority of activities underway were primarily focused on building awareness of how climate change may affect marine and coastal environments and adaptation planning, with some projects that had advanced into implementation. Progress has been made since then and this updated report and guide shares lessons learned from completed projects, and identifies additional adaptation initiatives from different geographies and partners.

First, we provide a summary of climatic changes, including air and ocean temperatures, precipitation patterns and coastal storms, ocean circulation, sea levels, and ocean chemistry (e.g., pH, dissolved oxygen, salinity), and associated impacts on marine and coastal systems, including species, habitats, ecosystem services, and human communities.

Second, we provide an overview and examples of common barriers to adaptation noted by practitioners, such as funding and budgetary constraints, insufficient staff capacity and technical expertise, limited political will to mandate and enforce implementation, and lack of stakeholder awareness and engagement on climate change.

Third, we present adaptation examples by the following categories:

  1. Capacity Building: Strategies include conducting research and collecting additional information, conducting training and planning exercises, improving public awareness 6 and education, developing tools and resources, and monitoring impacts and effectiveness of adaptation actions.
  2. Governance and Policy: Strategies include developing adaptation plans and policies, creating new or enhancing existing policies, and developing adaptive management strategies.
  3. Infrastructure, Planning, and Development: Strategies include improving existing or designing new infrastructure to withstand the effects of climate change, incorporating climate change into community and land use planning, creating or modifying development measures (e.g., removing shoreline hardening, encouraging low-impact development), and developing disaster preparedness plans and policies.
  4. Natural Resource Management and Conservation: Strategies include enhancing areas under protection, restoring critical habitats, and reducing non-climate stressors.

The report concludes with a discussion of some notable trends from this latest review of marine and coastal U.S. adaptation. In general, most action is focused on the assessment and planning phases of adaptation with more moderate advancements in implementation and evaluation. Progress is being made, although likely not at the pace and scale required to keep up with changing conditions. Additional trends of note include a more intentional focus on advancing equitable adaptation; the use of unified climate projections in decision-making; integration of community concerns in adaptation projects led by conservation organizations; slower uptake and implementation of monitoring and evaluation; and the continuing critical role of the federal government in adaptation.


Adaptation Case Studies by Geographic Region

References

Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC). 2012. Attributes of the Eastern Chukchi Sea Food Web with Comparisons to Three Northern Marine Ecosystems. In Alaska Fisheries Science Center Quarterly Report. NOAA Fisheries. Available at http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/Quarterly/OND2012/ond12-Quarterly.pdf. Accessed September 2021.

Anderson, J.A., S.M. Baker, G.L. Graham, M.G. Haby, S.G. Hall, L. Swann, W.C. Walton, and A.C. Wilson. 2013. Ch 9: Effects of Climate Change on Fisheries and Aquaculture in the Southeast USA. In Ingram, K., K. Dow, L. Carter, and J. Anderson, Eds. 2013. Climate of the Southeast United States: Variability, change, impacts, and vulnerability. Island Press, Washington D.C.

Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA). 2005. Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. Cambridge University Press, 1042p. Available at https://www.amap.no/documents/doc/arcticarctic-climate-impact-assessmen…. Accessed September 2021.

Artiga, S., C. Hall, R. Rudowitz, and B. Lyons. 2018. Health care in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands: A six-month check-up after the storms. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Available at https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/health-care-in-puerto-rico-and…. Accessed September 2021.

Auth, T.D., R.D. Brodeur, H.L. Soulen, L. Cianelli, and W.T. Peterson. 2011. The response of fish larvae to decadal changes in environmental forcing factors off the Oregon coast. Fisheries Oceanography 20(4):314–328.

Azevedo de Almeida, B.A., and A. Mostafavi. 2016. Resilience of infrastructure systems to sealevel rise in coastal areas: impacts, adaptation measures, and implementation challenges. Sustainability 8(1115):1–28.

Barange, M. and R.I. Perry. 2009. Physical and ecological impacts of climate change relevant to marine and inland capture fisheries and aquaculture. In K. Cochrane, C. De Young, D. Soto and T. Bahri (eds). Climate change implications for fisheries and aquaculture: overview of current scientific knowledge. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper. No. 530. Rome, FAO. pp. 7–106.

Barth, J.A., B.A. Menge, J. Lubchenco, F. Chan, J.M. Bane, A.R. Kirincich, M.A. McManus, K.J. Nielsen, S.D. Pierce, and L. Washburn. 2007. Delayed upwelling alters nearshore coastal ocean ecosystems in the northern California current. PNAS. 104:10.

Barton, A., B. Hales, G.G. Waldbusser, C. Langdon, and R.A. Feely. 2012. The Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, shows negative correlation to naturally elevated carbon dioxide levels: Implications for near-term ocean acidification effects. Limnology and Oceanography 57(3): 698–710.

Beamish, R.J., B.E. Riddell, K.L. Lange, E. Farley Jr., S. Kang, T. Nagasawa, V. Radchenko, O. Temnykh, and S. Urawa. 2010. The effects of climate on Pacific salmon: A summary of published literature. Ocean North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission Special Publication 2:1–11.

Behrenfeld, M.J., R.T.O. Malley, D.A. Siegel, C.R. McClain, J.L. Sarmiento, G.C. Feldman, A.J. Milligan, P.G. Falkowski, R.M. Letelier, and E.S. Boss. 2006. Climate‐driven trends in contemporary ocean productivity. Nature 444:752–755.

Berry, L., F. Bloetscher, N. Hernández Hammer, M. Koch-Rose, D. Mitsova-Boneva, J. Restrepo, T. Root, and R. Teegavarapu. 2011. Florida water management and adaptation in the face of climate change. Florida Climate Change Task Force.

Bertule, M., L.R. Appelquist, J. Spensley, S.L.M. Trærup, and P. Naswa. 2018. Climate change adaptation technologies for water: a practitioner’s guide to adaptation technologies for increased water sector resilience. UNEP DTU Partnership.

Bindoff, N.L., W.W.L. Cheung, J.G. Kairo, J. Aristegui, V.A. Guinder, R. Hallberg, N. Hilmi, N. Jiao, M.S. Karim, L. Levin, S. O’Donoghue, S.R. Purca Cuicapusa, B. Rinkevich, T. Suga, A. Tagliabue, and P. Williamson. 2019. Changing Ocean, Marine Ecosystems, and Dependent Communities. In IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. Portner, H-O, D.C. Roberts, V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, M. Tignor, E. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Nicolai, A. Okem, J. Petzold, B. Rama, and N.M. Weyer (Eds.)

Bond, N.A., M.F. Cronin, H. Freeland, and N. Mantua. 2015. Causes and impacts of the 2014 warm anomaly in the NE Pacific. Geophysical Research Letters 42(9):3414–3420.

Bopp, L., L. Resplandy, J.C. Orr, S.C. Doney, J.P. Dunne, M. Gehlen, P. Halloran, C. Heinze, T. Ilyina, R. Séférian, J. Tjiputra, and M. Vichi. 2013. Multiple stressors of ocean ecosystems in the 21st century: projections with CMIP5 models. Biogeosciences 10:6225–6245.

Boyer, T., S. Levitus, J. Antonov, R. Locarnini, A. Mishonov, H. Garcia, and S.A. Josey. 2007. Changes in freshwater content in the North Atlantic Ocean 1955–2006. Geophysical Research Letters 34:1–5.

Brady, R.X., M.A. Alexander, N.S. Lovenduski, and R.R. Rykaczewski, 2017: Emergent anthropogenic trends in California Current upwelling. Geophysical Research Letters 44:5044–5052.

Brander, K.M. 2007. Global fish production and climate change. Science 104(50):44‐46.

Brodeur, R.D., W.T. Peterson, T.D. Auth, H.L. Soulen, M.M. Parnel, and A. Emerson. 2008. Abundance and diversity of coastal fish larvae as indicators of recent changes in ocean and climate conditions in the Oregon upwelling zone. Marine Ecology Progress Series 366:187–202.

Burkett, V.R., and M.A. Davidson (Eds.). 2012. Coastal impacts, adaptation, and vulnerabilities: A technical input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment. National Climate Assessment Regional Technical Input Report Series. Cooperative Report to the 2013 National Climate Assessment.

Cai, W., A. Santoso, G. Wang, S-W Yeh, S-I An, K.M. Cobb, M. Collins, E. Guilyardi, F-F Jin, J-S Kug, M. Lengaigne, MJ. McPhaden, K. Takahashi, A. Timmermann, G. Vecchi, M. Wtanabe, and L. Wu. 2015. ENSO and greenhouse warming. Nature Climate Change 5:849–859.

Carter, L.M., J.W. Jones, L. Berry, V. Burkett, J.F. Murley, J. Obeysekera, P.J. Schramm, and D. Wear. 2014. Chapter 17: Southeast and the Caribbean. J.M. Melillo, T.C. Richmond, and G.W. Yohe (Eds.) Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment. U.S. Global Change Research Program.

Cazenave, A., and W. Llovel. 2010. Contemporary sea level rise. Annual Review of Marine Science 2:145–173.

Chapin, F.S., III, S.F. Trainor, P. Cochran, H. Huntington, C. Markon, M. McCammon, A.D. McGuire, and M. Serreze. 2014. Ch. 22: Alaska. Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment, J.M. Melillo, T.C. Richmond, and G. W. Yohe, Eds., U.S. Global Change Research Program. pp. 514–536.

Cheng, W., J. C. H. Chiang, and D. Zhang, 2013: Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in CMIP5 models: RCP and historical simulations. Journal of Climate 26:7187– 7197.

Chu, P.-S. 2002. Large-scale circulation features associated with decadal variations of tropical cyclone activity over the Central North Pacific. Journal of Climate 15:2678–2689.

Clark, R., S. Stoner-Duncan, D. Revell, R. Pausch, and A. Joseph-Witzig. 2020. City of Santa Cruz Beaches Climate Adaptation Policy Response Strategy Technical Report. Report prepared by the Central Coast Wetlands Group at Moss Landing Marine Labs and Integral Consulting. 131 pp.

Collins, M., M. Sutherland, L. Bouwer, S.-M. Cheong, T. Frölicher, H. Jacot Des Combes, M. Koll Roxy, I. Losada, K. McInnes, B. Ratter, E. Rivera-Arriaga, R.D. Susanto, D. Swingedouw, and L. Tibig. 2019. Extremes, Abrupt Changes and Managing Risk. In IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, M. Tignor, E. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Nicolai, A. Okem, J. Petzold, B. Rama, N.M. Weyer (eds.). In press.

Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (CENR). 2010. Scientific assessment of hypoxia in U.S. coastal waters. Interagency Working Group on Harmful Algal Blooms, Hypoxia, and Human Health, Washington, D.C.

Cooley, S., and S.C. Doney. 2009. Anticipating ocean acidification’s economic consequences for commercial fisheries. Environmental Research Letters 4(2):024007.

Daw, T., W.N. Adger, K. Brown, and M.-C. Badjeck. 2009. Climate change and capture fisheries: potential impacts, adaptation and mitigation. In K. Cochrane, C. De Young, D. Soto and T. Bahri, Eds. Climate change implications for fisheries and aquaculture: overview of current scientific knowledge. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper. No. 530. Rome, FAO. pp. 107–150.

Di Lorenzo, E., and N. Mantua. 2016. Multi-year persistence of the 2014/15 North Pacific marine heatwave. Nature Climate Change 6:1042–1047.

Doney, S., A.A. Rosenberg, M. Alexander, F. Chavez, C.D. Harvell, G. Hofmann, M. Orbach, and M. Ruckelshaus. 2014. Ch. 24: Oceans and Marine Resources. Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment, J. M. Melillo, T.C. Richmond, and G.W. Yohe, Eds., U.S. Global Change Research Program, 557‐578.

Doney, S.C., V.J. Fabry, R.A. Feely, and J.A. Kleypas. 2009. Ocean acidification: the other CO2 problem. Annual Review of Marine Science. Vol. 1:169–192.

Doyle, T.W., K.W. Krauss, W.H. Conner, and A.S. From. 2010. Predicting the retreat and migration of tidal forests along the northern Gulf of Mexico under sea level rise. Forest Ecology and Management 259:4.

Easterling, D.R., K.E. Kunkel, J.R. Arnold, T. Knutson, A.N. LeGrande, L.R. Leung, R.S. Vose, D.E. Waliser, and M.F. Wehner. 2017. Precipitation change in the United States. In Climate Science Special Report: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume I. Wuebbles, D.J., D.W. Fahey, K.A. Hibbard, D.J. Dokken, B.C. Stewart, and T.K. Maycock (eds.). U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 207–230.

Eggleston, J., and J. Pope. 2013. Land subsidence and relative sea-level rise in the southern Chesapeake Bay region: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1392.

Eriksen, S., P. Aldunce, C.S. Bahinipati, R.D. Martins, J.I. Molefe, C. Nhemachena, K. O’Brien, F. Olorunfemi, J. Park, L. Sygna, and K. Ulsrud. 2011. When not every response to climate change is a good one: Identifying principles for sustainable adaptation. Climate and Development 3(1).

Feely, R.A., C.L. Sabine, K. Lee, F.J. Millero, and M.F. Lamb. 2002. In situ calcium carbonate dissolution in the Pacific Ocean. Global Biogeochemistry Cycles 16:4.

Feely, R.A., S.C. Doney, and S.R. Cooley. 2009. Ocean acidification: present conditions and future changes in a high-CO2 world. Oceanography 22:36–47.

Feely, R.A., T. Klinger, J.A. Newton, and M. Chadsey. 2012. Scientific Summary of Ocean Acidification in Washington State Marine Waters. NOAA OAR Special Report. Available at https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/documents/1201016.pdf. Accessed September 2021.

Forsyth, C.M.J. 2018. Why Alaska and the Arctic are Critical to the National Security of the United States. Military Review January–February 2018. Available at https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Editio…. Accessed September 2021.

Fritz, A. 2017. Harvey. Irma. Maria. Why is this hurricane season so bad? Washington Post, September 23, 2017. Available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capitalweather-gang/wp/2017/09/23/h…. Accessed September 2021.

Gibbs, M.T. 2016. Why is coastal retreat so hard to implement? Understanding the political risk of coastal adaptation pathways. Ocean & Coastal Management 130:107–114. Glynn, P.W., I.C. Enochs, J.A. Afflerbach, V.W. Brandtneris, and J.E. Serafy. 2014. Eastern Pacific reef fish responses to coral recovery following El Niño disturbances. Marine Ecology Progress Series 495:233–247.

Glynn, P.W., J.L. Maté, A.C. Baker, and M.O. Calderón. 2001. Coral bleaching and mortality in Panama and Ecuador during the 1997–1998 El Niño–Southern Oscillation Event: spatial/temporal patterns and comparisons with the 1982–1983 event. Bulletin of Marine Science 69(1):79‐109.

Gould, W.A., S.J. Fain, I.K. Pares, K. McGinley, A. Perry, and R.F. Steele. 2015. Caribbean Regional Climate Sub Hub Assessment of Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies, United States Department of Agriculture, 67 pp.

Gould, W.A., E.L. Díaz, N.L. Álvarez-Berríos, F. Aponte-González, W. Archibald, J.H. Bowden, L. Carrubba, W. Crespo, S.J. Fain, G. González, A. Goulbourne, E. Harmsen, E. Holupchinski, A.H. Khalyani, J. Kossin, A.J. Leinberger, V.I. Marrero-Santiago, O. Martínez-Sánchez, K. McGinley, P. Méndez-Lázaro, J. Morell, M.M. Oyola, I.K. Parés-Ramos, R. Pulwarty, W.V. Sweet, A. Terando, and S. Torres-González. 2018. U.S. Caribbean. In Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II. Reidmiller, D.R., C.W. Avery, D.R. Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, K.L.M. Lewis, T.K. Maycock, and B.C. Stewart (eds.). U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 809–871.

Grecni, Z., E.M. Derrington, R. Greene, W. Miles, and V. Keener. 2021. Climate Change in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: Indicators and Considerations for Key Sectors. Report for the Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment. East-West Center, Honolulu, HI.

Gregg, R.M., and K.N. Braddock. 2020. Climate Change and Displacement in U.S. Communities. EcoAdapt, Bainbridge Island, WA.

Gregg, R.M., K.N. Braddock, and J.M. Kershner. 2019. The State of Climate Adaptation in Public Health: An Assessment of 16 U.S. States. EcoAdapt, Bainbridge Island, WA.

Gregg, R.M., J.M. Kershner, and L.J. Hansen. 2018. Strategies for Climate Change Adaptation: A Synthesis. In: D.A. DellaSala, M.I. Goldstein (eds.) Encyclopedia of the Anthropocene 2:257–265. Oxford: Elsevier.

Gregg, R.M., W. Reynier, A. Score, and L. Hilberg. 2017. The State of Climate Adaptation in Water Resources Management: Southeastern United States and U.S. Caribbean. EcoAdapt, Bainbridge Island, WA.

Gregg, R.M., A. Score, D. Pietri, and L. Hansen. 2016. The State of Climate Adaptation in U.S. Marine Fisheries Management. EcoAdapt, Bainbridge Island, WA.

Gregg, R.M., K.M. Feifel, J.M. Kershner, and J.L. Hitt. 2012. The State of Climate Change Adaptation in the Great Lakes Region. EcoAdapt, Bainbridge Island, WA.

Gregg, R.M., L.J. Hansen, K.M. Feifel, J.L. Hitt, J.M. Kershner, A. Score, and J.R. Hoffman. 2011. The State of Marine and Coastal Adaptation in North America: A Synthesis of Emerging Ideas. EcoAdapt, Bainbridge Island, WA.

Griffis, R., and J. Howard. 2013. Oceans and marine resources in a changing climate: A technical input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment. R.

Griffis and J. Howard (Eds.) National Climate Assessment Regional Technical Input Report Series. Island Press, Washington, D.C.

Guidry, M.W., and F.T. Mackenzie. 2011. Future Climate Change, Sea‐Level Rise, and Ocean Acidification: Implications for Hawai‘i and Western Pacific Fisheries Management. University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program.

Hansen, J., R. Ruedy, M. Sato, and K. Lo. 2010. Global surface temperature change. Reviews of Geophysics 48(4).

Hansen, J., M. Sato, R. Ruedy, K. Lo, D.W. Lea, and M. Medina-Elizade. 2006. Global temperature change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 103(39):14288–93.

Hare, J.A., W.E. Morrison, M.W. Nelson, M.M Stachura, E.J. Teeters, R.B. Griffis, M.A. Alexander, J.D. Scott, L. Alade, R.J. Bell, A.S. Chute, K.L. Curti, T.H. Curtis, D. Kircheis, J.F. Kocik, S.M. Lucey, C.T. McCandless, L.M. Milke, D.E. Richardson, E. Robillard, H.J. Walsh, M.C. McManus, K.E. Marancik, and C.A. Griswold. 2016. A vulnerability assessment of fish and invertebrates to climate change on the Northeast U.S. continental shelf. PLoS ONE 11(2): e0146756.

Harris, C.M., J.W. McClelland, T.L. Connelly, B.C. Crump, and K.H. Dunton. Salinity and Temperature Regimes in Eastern Alaskan Beaufort Sea Lagoons in Relation to Source Water Contributions. Estuaries and Coasts 40:50–62.

Hawai‘i Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission. 2017. Hawai‘i Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Report. Prepared by Tetra Tech, Inc. and the State of Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands, under the State of Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources Contract No: 64064.

Hayhoe, K., D.J. Wuebbles, D.R. Easterling, D.W. Fahey, S. Doherty, J. Kossin, W. Sweet, R. Vose, and M. Wehner. 2018. Our Changing Climate. In Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II. Reidmiller, D.R., C.W. Avery, D.R. Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, K.L.M. Lewis, T.K. Maycock, and B.C. Stewart (eds.). U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 72–144.

Hobday, A.J., E.C.J. Oliver, A. Sen Gupta, J.A. Benthuysen, M.T. Burrows, M.G. Donat, N.J. Holbrook, P.J. Moore, M.S. Thomsen, T. Wernberg, and D.A. Smale. 2018. Categorizing and naming marine heatwaves. Oceanography 31(2):162–173.

Horn, D.P., E.M. Webster, and E.A. Lee. 2021. Climate Change, Slow-Onset Disasters, and the Federal Emergency Management Authority. Congressional Research Service Insight IN11696.

Horton, R., G. Yohe, W. Easterling, R. Kates, M. Ruth, E. Sussman, A. Whelchel, D. Wolfe, and F. Lipschultz. 2014. Ch. 16: Northeast. Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment, J.M. Melillo, T.C. Richmond, and G.W. Yohe, Eds., U.S. Global Change Research Program, 371‐395.

Howell, J., and J.R. Elliott. 2019. Damages done: The longitudinal impacts of natural hazards on wealth inequality in the United States. Social Problems 66(3):448–467.

Independent Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB). 2007. Climate Change Impacts on Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife. Available at http://www.nwcouncil.org/fw/isab/isab2007-2. Accessed September 2021.

Ingram, K., K. Dow, L. Carter, and J. Anderson. 2013. Climate of the Southeast United States: Variability, change, impacts, and vulnerability. Island Press, Washington D.C.

Interagency Working Group on Ocean Acidification (IWG). 2014. Strategic Plan for Federal Research and Monitoring of Ocean Acidification. Prepared by Interagency Working Group on Ocean Acidification Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Sustainability National Science and Technology Council, March 2014.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 2019. Technical Summary. H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, E. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, M. Tignor, A. Alegría, M. Nicolai, A. Okem, J. Petzold, B. Rama, N.M. Weyer (eds.). In IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. Available at https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/. Accessed September 2021.

IPCC. 2021. Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S.L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu and B. Zhou (eds.). Cambridge University Press. In Press. Available at https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-workinggroup-i/. Accessed September 2021.

Jewett, L., and A. Romanou, 2017: Ocean acidification and other ocean changes. In Climate Science Special Report: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume I. Wuebbles, D.J., D.W. Fahey, K.A. Hibbard, D.J. Dokken, B.C. Stewart, and T.K. Maycock (eds.). U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 364–392.

Johnson, T. 2012. Fisheries Adaptation to Climate Change. Alaska Sea Grant. Available at https://alaskaseagrant.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Climate-Change-an…. Accessed September 2021.

Ju, Y., S. Lindbergh, Y. He, and J.D. Radke. 2019. Climate-related uncertainties in urban exposure to sea level rise and storm surge flooding: a multi-temporal and multi-scenario analysis. Cities 92:230–246.

Keener, V.W., J.J. Marra, M.L. Finucane, D. Spooner, and M.H. Smith. 2012. Climate Change and Pacific Islands: Indicators and Impacts. Report for The 2012 Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment. Island Press, Washington, D.C.

Kelly, R.P., M.M. Foley, W.S. Fisher, R.A. Feely, B.S. Halpern, G.G. Waldbusser, and M.R. Caldwell. 2011. Mitigating local causes of ocean acidification with existing laws. Science 332:1036–1037.

Kennedy, V.S., R.R. Twilley, J.A. Kleypas, J.J Cowan, and S.R. Hare. 2002. Coastal and marine ecosystems and global climate change: potential effects on U.S. resources. Pew Center on Global Climate Change, Arlington, VA. 51 p.

Kossin, J.P., T. Hall, T. Knutson, K.E. Kunkel, R.J. Trapp, D.E. Waliser, and M.F. Wehner. 2017. Extreme storms. In Climate Science Special Report: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume I. Wuebbles, D.J., D.W. Fahey, K.A. Hibbard, D.J. Dokken, B.C. Stewart, and T.K. Maycock (eds.). U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 257– 276.

Kroeker, K.J., R.L. Kordas, R. Crim, I.E. Hendriks, L. Ramajo, G.S. Singh, C.M. Duarte, and J.-P. Gattuso. 2013. Impacts of ocean acidification on marine organisms: quantifying sensitivities and interaction with warming. Global Change Biology 19(6):1884–1896.

Kunkel, K.E., L.E. Stevens, S.E. Stevens, L. Sun, E. Janssen, D. Wuebbles, C.E. Konrad II, C.M. Fuhrman, B.D. Keim, M.C. Kruk, and A. Billot. 2013. Regional climate trends and scenarios for the U.S. National Climate Assessment. Part 2. Climate of the Southeast U.S. NOAA Technical Report NESDIS 142-2, NOAA Technical Reports. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Washington, D.C.

Laird, A. 2018. Humboldt Bay Area Plan, Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment. Trinity Associates, Humboldt County, CA. Available at https://humboldtgov.org/DocumentCenter/View/62872/Humboldt-Bay-Area-Pla…. Accessed September 2021.

Lehodey, P., J. Alheit, M. Barange, T. Baumgartner, G. Beugrand, K. Drinkwater, J.-M. Fromentin, S.R. Hare, G. Ottersen, R.I. Perry, C. Roy, C.D. Van der Lingen, and F. Werner. 2006. Climate variability, fish, and fisheries. Journal of Climate 19(20):5009–5030.

Leong, J.-A., J.J. Marra, M.L. Finucane, T. Giambelluca, M. Merrifield, S.E. Miller, J. Polovina, E. Shea, M. Burkett, J. Campbell, P. Lefale, F. Lipschultz, L. Loope, D. Spooner, and B. Wang. 2014. Ch. 23: Hawai‘i and U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands. Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment, J.M. Melillo, T.C. Richmond, and G.W. Yohe, Eds., U.S. Global Change Research Program, pp 537–556.

Link, J.S., J.A. Nye, and J. Hare. 2010. Guidelines for incorporating fish distribution shifts into a fisheries management context. Fish and Fisheries 12(4): 461469.

Marra, J.J., and M.C. Kruk. 2017. State of Environmental Conditions in Hawaii and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands under a Changing Climate: 2017. Coordinating Authors: J.J. Marra and M.C. Kruk. Contributing Authors: M. Abecassis; H. Diamond; A. Genz; S.F. Heron; M. Lander; G. Liu; J. T. Potemra; W.V. Sweet; P. Thompson; M.W. Widlansky; and P. Woodworth-Jefcoats. September, 2017. NOAA NCEI.

McIlgorm, A., S. Hanna, G. Knapp, P. Le Floch, F. Millerd, and M. Pan. 2010. How will climate change alter fishery governance? Insights from seven international case studies. Marine Policy 34:170-177. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA). 2005. A Report of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Ecosystems and Human Well-Being. Island Press, Washington DC.

Mills, K.E., A.J. Pershing, C.J. Brown, Y. Chen, F.-S. Chiang, D.S. Holland, S. Lehuta, J.A. Nye, J.C. Sun, A.C. Thomas, and R.A. Wahle. 2013. Fisheries management in a changing climate: Lessons from the 2012 ocean heat wave in the Northwest Atlantic. Oceanography 26(2):191–195.

Mitchum, G.T. 2011. Sea level changes in the southeastern United States: past, present, and future. Florida Climate Institute and the Southeast Climate Consortium.

Mora, C., C.-L. Wei, A. Rollo, T. Amaro, A.R. Baco, D. Billett, L. Bopp, Q. Chen, M. Collier, R. Danovaro, A.J. Gooday, B.M. Grupe, P.R. Halloran, J. Ingels, D.O.B. Jones, L.A. Levin, H. Nakano, K. Norling, E. Ramirez-Llodra, M. Rex, H.A. Ruhl, C.R. Smith, A.K. Sweetman, A.R. Thurber, J.F. Tjiputra, P. Usseglio, L. Watling, T. Wu, and M. Yasuhara. 2013. Biotic and human vulnerability to projected changes in ocean biogeochemistry over the 21st century. PLoS Biology 11. October 15, 2013.

Murakami, H., B. Wang, T. Li, and A. Kitoh. 2013. Projected increase in tropical cyclones near Hawai‘i. Nature Climate Change 3:749–754. Najjar, R.G, H.A. Walker, P.J. Anderson, E.J. Barro, R.J. Bord, J.R. Gibson, V.S. Kennedy, C.G. Knight, J.P. Megonigal, R.E. O’Connor, C.D. Polsky, N.P. Psuty, B.A. Richard, L.G. Sorenson, E.M. Steele, and R.S. Swanson. 2000. The potential impact of climate change on the mid-Atlantic coastal region. Climate Research 14(3):219–233.

Najjar, R.G., C.R. Pyke, M.B. Adams, D. Breitburg, C. Hershner, M. Kemp, and R. Wood. 2010. Potential climate change impacts on the Chesapeake Bay. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 86(1):1–20.

National Research Council (NRC). 2010. Ocean Acidification: A National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Ocean. Committee on the Development of an Integrated Strategy for Ocean Acidification Monitoring, Research and Impacts Assessment, National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.

Needham, H., D. Brown, and L. Carter. 2012. Impacts and Adaptation Options in the Gulf Coast. Prepared for Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. June 2012.

Ning, Z.H., R.E. Turner, T. Doyle, and K.K. Abdollahi. 2003. Integrated Assessment of the Climate Change Impacts on the Gulf Coast Region. ISBN 1‐930129-01-7. Available at http://downloads.globalchange.gov/nca/nca1/gulfcoast-complete.pdf

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters. 2021. Available at https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/

O’Connor, M., J.F. Bruno, S.D. Gaines, B.S. Halpern, S.E. Lester, B.P. Kinlan, and J.M. Weiss. 2007. Temperature control of larval dispersal and the implications for marine ecology, evolution, and conservation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104:1266–71.

Oliver, E.C.J., M.T. Burrows, M.G. Donat, A.S. Gupta, L.V. Alexander, S.E. Perkins-Kirkpatrick, J.A. Benthuysen, A.J. Hobday, N.J. Holbrook, P.J. Moore, M.S. Thomsen, T. Wernberg, and D.A. Smale. 2019. Projected marine heatwaves in the 21st century and the potential for ecological impact. Frontiers in Marine Science 6(734):1–12

Orr, J.C., V.J. Fabry, O. Aumont, L. Bopp, and S.C. Doney. 2005. Anthropogenic ocean acidification over the twenty-first century and its impact on calcifying organisms. Nature 437:681–686.

Perls, H. 2020. U.S. Disaster Displacement in the Era of Climate Change: Discrimination and Consultation under the Stafford Act. Harvard Environmental Law Review 44:512–552.

Pershing, A.J, M.A. Alexander, C.M. Hernandez, L.A. Kerr, A. Le Bris, K.E. Mills, J.A. Nye, N.R. Record, H.A. Scannell, J.D. Scott, G.D. Sherwood, and A.C. Thomas. 2015. Slow adaptation in the face of rapid warming leads to collapse of the Gulf of Maine cod fishery. Science 29.

Pinsky, M., and M.J. Fogarty. 2012. Lagged social‐ecological responses to climate and range shifts in fisheries. Climatic Change 115:883–891.

Puerto Rico Climate Change Council (PRCCC). 2021. Website. Available at http://www.prccc.org. Accessed October 2021. Quinault Indian Nation Community Development and Planning Department. 2017. The Taholah Village relocation master plan. Quinault Indian Nation. Available at http://www.quinaultindiannation.com/planning/FINAL_Taholah_Relocation_P…. Accessed October 2021.

Rabalais, N.N., and R.E. Turner. 2019. Gulf of Mexico: Past, present, and future. Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin 28(4):117–124.

Rabalais, N.N., R.J. Diaz, L.A. Levin, R.E. Turner, D. Gilbert, and J. Zhang. 2010. Dynamics and distribution of natural and human-caused hypoxia. Biogeosciences 7(2).

Rahmstorf, S. 2006. Thermohaline Ocean Circulation. In Encyclopedia of Quaternary Sciences, Edited by S.A. Elias. Elsevier, Amsterdam.

Reguero, B.G., M.W. Beck, D.N. Bresch, J. Calil, and I. Meliane. 2018. Comparing the cost effectiveness of nature-based and coastal adaptation: A case study from the Gulf Coast of the United States. PLoS ONE 13(4): e0192132.

Reynolds, T., D. Burdick, P. Houk, L. Raymundo, and S. Johnson. 2014. Unprecedented coral bleaching across the Marianas Archipelago. Coral Reefs 33(2).

Roessig, J.M., C.M. Woodley, J.J. Cech, and L.J. Hansen. 2004. Effects of global climate change on marine and estuarine fishes. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 14:215–75.

Royer, T.C. and C.E. Grosch. 2006. Ocean warming and freshening in the northern Gulf of Alaska. Geophysical Research Letters 33:1–6.

Runkle, J., K. Kunkel, and L. Stevens. 2018. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands State Climate Summary. NOAA Technical Report NESDIS 149-PR, 4 pp.

Sanford, E., B. Gaylord, A. Hettinger, E.A. Lenz, K. Meyer, and T.M. Hill. 2014. Ocean acidification increases the vulnerability of native oysters to predation by invasive snails. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Biological Sciences 281:20132681.

Schindler, D., X. Auergot, E. Fleishman, N. Mantua, B. Riddell, M. Ruckelshaus, J. Seeb, and M. Webster. 2008. Climate change, ecosystem impacts, and management for Pacific salmon. Fisheries 33(10):502–505.

Schmittner, A., M. Latif, and B. Schneider. 2005. Model projections of the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation for the 21st century assessed by observations. Geophysical Research Letters 32(23).

Score, A., editor. 2017. Rapid Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Strategies for the National Marine Sanctuary and Territory of American Samoa. EcoAdapt, Bainbridge Island, WA.

Sweet, W.V., R. Horton, R.E. Kopp, A.N. LeGrande, and A. Romanou, 2017: Sea level rise. In Climate Science Special Report: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume I. Wuebbles, D.J., D.W. Fahey, K.A. Hibbard, D.J. Dokken, B.C. Stewart, and T.K. Maycock (eds.). U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 333–363.

Sydeman, W.J., M. García-Reyes, D.S. Schoeman, R.R. Rykaczewski, S.A. Thompson, B.A. Black, and S.J. Bograd. 2014. Climate change and wind intensification in coastal upwelling ecosystems. Science 345:77–80.

Sydeman, W., and S.A. Thompson. 2014. Potential Impacts of Climate Change on California’s Fish and Fisheries. California Ocean Science Trust, Oakland, CA.

Twilley, R.R., E.J. Barron, H.L. Gholz, M.A. Harwell, R.L. Miller, D.J. Reed, J.B. Rose, E.H. Siemann, R.G. Wetzel, and R.J. Zimmerman. 2001. Confronting Climate Change in the Gulf Coast Region: Prospects for Sustaining Our Ecological Heritage. Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Ecological Society of America, Washington, D.C.

Virgin Islands-Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (VI-EPSCoR). 2021. Website. Available at https://viepscor.org. Accessed October 2021.

Walsh, J., D. Wuebbles, K. Hayhoe, J. Kossin, K. Kunkel, G. Stephens, P. Thorne, R. Vose, M. Wehner, J. Willis, D. Anderson, S. Doney, R. Feely, P. Hennon, V. Kharin, T. Knutson, F. Landerer, T. Lenton, J. Kennedy, and R. Somerville. 2014. Ch. 2: Our Changing Climate. Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment, J.M. Melillo, T.C. Richmond, and G.W. Yohe, Eds., U.S. Global Change Research Program, pp 19–67.

Wannamaker, C.M., and J.A. Rice. 2000. Effects of hypoxia on movements and behavior of selected estuarine organisms from the southeastern United States. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 249:145–163.

Washington State Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification. 2012. Ocean Acidification: From Knowledge to Action, Washington State’s Strategic Response. H. Adelsman and L. Whitely Binder (eds). Washington Department of Ecology, Olympia, Washington. Publication no. 12-01-015.

Westerling, A., H. Hidalgo, D. Cayan, and T. Swetnam. 2006. Warming and earlier spring increase western US forest wildfire activity. Science 313:940–943.

Wijgerde, T., C.I.F. Silva, V. Scherders, J. van Bleijswijk, and R. Osinga. 2014. Coral calcification under daily oxygen saturation and pH dynamics reveals the important role of oxygen. Biology Open 3:489–93.

Willingham, A.J. 2017. A look at four storms from one brutal hurricane season. Available at http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/10/weather/hurricane-nate-maria-irma-harvey-…. Accessed September 2021.

Wuebbles, D.J., D.W. Fahey, K.A. Hibbard, B. DeAngelo, S. Doherty, K. Hayhoe, R. Horton, J.P. Kossin, P.C. Taylor, A.M. Waple, and C.P. Weaver. 2017. Executive summary. In Climate Science Special Report: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume I. Wuebbles, D.J., D.W. Fahey, K.A. Hibbard, D.J. Dokken, B.C. Stewart, and T.K. Maycock (eds.). U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 12–34.

Xiu, P., F. Chai, E.N. Curchitser, and F.S. Castruccio. 2018. Future changes in coastal upwelling ecosystems with global warming: The case of the California Current System. Scientific Reports 8(2866).

Yang, Q., E.D. Cokelet, P.J. Stabeno, L. Li, A.B. Hollowed, W.A. Palsson, N.A. Bond, and S.J. Barbeaux. 2019. How “The Blob” affected groundfish distributions in the Gulf of Alaska. Fisheries Oceanography 28(4): 434–453.

Yeh, S.-W., J.‐S. Kug, B. Dewitte, M.‐H. Kwon, B. Kirtman, and F.-F. Jin. 2009. El Niño in a changing climate. Nature 461:511–514.


Suggested Citation

Gregg RM, Braddock KN. 2021. The State of Climate Adaptation in the Marine and Coastal United States, Territories, and Commonwealths. EcoAdapt, Bainbridge Island, WA.

Photo Credits

Cover photos (L-R from top): Public domain images from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Caroline S. Rogers/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to The Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust for providing financial support. Thank you to Jessi Kershner, Claire Anderson, and Sally Ann Sims for providing research, writing, and editing support, and to Jessica Hitt for providing technical support. Finally, thank you to the numerous individuals who contributed materials, participated in interviews and surveys, and provided peer review for this project. We hope that our products will promote and support your adaptation efforts.